The "get-passive" ("get broken") emphasizes the PROCESS, the CHANGE OF STATE, or something that happens unexpectedly/undesirably; the "be-passive" ("be broken") is the standard, neutral, more formal passive.
GET + PAST PARTICIPLE: the "get-passive" is an alternative passive voice very common in colloquial and semi-formal English. "The window got broken" = emphasis on the PROCESS of breaking, the change. "She got promoted" = change of positive state. "He got fired" = negative change. GET-PASSIVE is frequent when: (1) The process or CHANGE OF STATE is the focus (something happening to the subject). (2) The event is UNEXPECTED, ACCIDENTAL, or UNDESIRABLE: "My car got stolen" (accidental, undesirable). (3) The subject has SOME RESPONSIBILITY or INVOLVEMENT in what happens to them: "She got arrested" implies she did something that led to the arrest. GET-PASSIVE is NOT correct in VERY FORMAL English (legal documents, academic writing) where BE-PASSIVE is obligatory.
Two of the key contracts got signed late in the quarter, which delayed the recognition of the associated revenue into the following period.
The server got hacked during a period when the security team was understaffed and the vulnerability assessment had not yet been completed.
She got selected for the leadership development program after consistently exceeding her targets for three consecutive quarters.
BE + PAST PARTICIPLE: the STANDARD passive in English. Neutral, formal, applicable in all registers. "The window was broken" = neutral, can refer to state or process. "She was promoted" = formal. BE-PASSIVE can express: (1) PROCESS: "The report WAS SUBMITTED yesterday" (passive action). (2) RESULTANT STATE: "The window IS BROKEN" = the window is broken right now (current state). The process vs state distinction is marked by verb tense: WAS BROKEN (past process) vs IS BROKEN (current state). GET-PASSIVE can only express process, never resultant state: "The window IS GOT BROKEN" = INCORRECT for current state.
The final investment proposal was submitted to the committee three business days before the application deadline.
All procurement decisions above a certain threshold are required to be reviewed and approved by at least two members of the finance leadership team.
The new data governance framework was developed in consultation with legal, IT, and compliance teams over a six-month period.
Common mistake
Classic errors: (1) GET-PASSIVE for resultant state: "The window is got broken" = INCORRECT. For the current state: "The window IS BROKEN" (be + participle). GET-PASSIVE only expresses process/event, not resultant state. (2) GET-PASSIVE in very formal English: in contracts, legal documents, academic papers, GET-PASSIVE sounds inappropriate. "The data was collected" (correct in formal). "The data got collected" (correct in colloquial, but inappropriate in a paper). (3) "He get promoted" = INCORRECT. GET is conjugated: "He GOT promoted" (past) / "He has GOT/gotten promoted" (present perfect).
Trick to remember it
The FORMALITY FILTER: very formal text (academic, legal)? = always BE-PASSIVE. Colloquial or semi-formal text? = GET-PASSIVE or BE-PASSIVE. The STATE FILTER: do you want to describe the CURRENT STATE (how something is now)? = only BE: "The report IS ready" / "The window IS broken." Do you want to describe the EVENT (what happened to something)? = GET or BE: "The report GOT submitted" / "The report WAS submitted." The CHANGE FILTER: does the event involve a dramatic, unexpected, or undesirable change? = GET-PASSIVE sounds more natural: "My laptop got stolen" (dramatic, undesirable). "The meeting was cancelled" (neutral = be-passive).
Quick rule
Get + participle = COLLOQUIAL passive, emphasis on process/change/event (often unexpected). Be + participle = STANDARD passive, formal, or for resultant state. Current state = only "is/are broken" (be). Colloquial event = "got broken" (get). Formal documents = always be-passive.
Did you know?
The "get-passive" is one of the grammatical phenomena in English that has increased most in frequency in recent decades. Linguistic corpora (large databases of real text) show its use has approximately doubled between 1950 and 2000 in informal written English, and it is even more common in speech. Some linguists suggest the get-passive is gaining ground because it offers a useful semantic distinction: BE-PASSIVE can be ambiguous between process and state ("the window was broken" = was it broken [event] or was it in a broken state?), while GET-PASSIVE is unambiguously an event ("the window got broken" = can only be the process of breaking). This semantic distinction may be driving the expansion of GET-PASSIVE in everyday speech, where contextual precision matters.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Two of the key client contracts _____ by the end of Q3, which will allow us to recognize the full revenue in the current fiscal year.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
I cannot believe the presentation files — they _____ right before the client meeting and we had no backup available.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Get + participle = COLLOQUIAL passive, emphasis on process/change/event (often unexpected). Be + participle = STANDARD passive, formal, or for resultant state. Current state = only "is/are broken" (be). Colloquial event = "got broken" (get). Formal documents = always be-passive.
Classic errors: (1) GET-PASSIVE for resultant state: "The window is got broken" = INCORRECT. For the current state: "The window IS BROKEN" (be + participle). GET-PASSIVE only expresses process/event, not resultant state. (2) GET-PASSIVE in very formal English: in contracts, legal documents, academic papers, GET-PASSIVE sounds inappropriate. "The data was collected" (correct in formal). "The data got collected" (correct in colloquial, but inappropriate in a paper). (3) "He get promoted" = INCORRECT. GET is conjugated: "He GOT promoted" (past) / "He has GOT/gotten promoted" (present perfect).
The FORMALITY FILTER: very formal text (academic, legal)? = always BE-PASSIVE. Colloquial or semi-formal text? = GET-PASSIVE or BE-PASSIVE. The STATE FILTER: do you want to describe the CURRENT STATE (how something is now)? = only BE: "The report IS ready" / "The window IS broken." Do you want to describe the EVENT (what happened to something)? = GET or BE: "The report GOT submitted" / "The report WAS submitted." The CHANGE FILTER: does the event involve a dramatic, unexpected, or undesirable change? = GET-PASSIVE sounds more natural: "My laptop got stolen" (dramatic, undesirable). "The meeting was cancelled" (neutral = be-passive).
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy